The Rare Botanical Beauty of the Klamath Siskiyou

The Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion serves as an Area of Global Botanical Significance (1 of 7 in North America). Over 70% of the Klamath Siskiyou Bioregion is public land and contains 130 designated botanical areas.

Much of the diverse plant life celebrated in the Klamath-Siskiyou region can be found in Botanical Areas in National Forests and Areas of Critical Environmental Concern on BLM lands. (Collectively, we refer to these areas as "Botanical Areas" for our stewardship program.) These botanical areas are extremely diverse in size, access, habitat type and can feature botanical resources ranging from individual endangered species, endemic places, to old growth forests and unique flora assemblages.

The management goals for these designate places are to protect, preserve, and enhance the exceptional botanical features. The ultimate goal for the future condition of botanical areas, is for natural, physical, and biological processes to prevail without human intervention. Plant and animal life will flourish in these unique ecosystems.

Native plants are valued for their economic, ecological, genetic, and aesthetic benefits in addition to their intrinsic value as living species. Botanical areas, designated

Due to a lack of oversight and law enforcement, many of these areas are threatened. Rare and unique species native to this area are threatened by commercial logging, off-highway vehicle use, mineral extraction, road building, non-native species, and grazing.

You can help defend and protect these areas by joining our Adopt-a-Botanical Area volunteer program. This is a great opportunity to become more familiar with some of our region’s spectacular botanical diversity—and help KS Wild with ongoing work to monitor and protect Botanical Areas.

Adopt a Botanical Area is a Citizen Science and Environmental Education Program of the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center. KS Wild is an advocate for the forests, wildlife and waters of the Klamath and Rogue River Basins of southwest Oregon and northwest California. Through environmental law, science, collaboration, education and grassroots organizing to defend healthy ecosystems and help build sustainable communities.

Formed in 1997, KS Wild fights for protection and restoration of the incomparable ecological riches of southwest Oregon and northwest California. We monitor public lands in the Rogue River-Siskiyou, Klamath, Six Rivers and Shasta-Trinity National Forests, and the Medford and Coos Bay Districts of the Bureau of Land Management.